Israeli Photogs Bring Food to Life

January 30, 2008 at 12:49 pm | In Food & Drink |

From Haaretz:

Israeli Duo Shoots Good Eats

Shimon and Tammar, a pair of Israeli photographers, are in demand among chefs at New York’s elite restaurants. “They make the food speak,” says Eric Ripert, chef at Le Bernardin. The two admit: “We are trying to surprise ourselves.”

By Haim Handwerker, New York (Haaretz 29 January 2008)

Many photographers would be happy to work with Eric Ripert, chef at Le Bernardin, the New York fish and seafood restaurant that earned a three-star rating in the Michelin Guide, its highest rating. Ripert chose the Israeli husband-and-wife team Shimon and Tammar (as they sign their work) to shoot his last two books. “They’re the best,” he says. “I’ve worked with many photographers and no one works like they do; they make the food speak.”

Shimon Rothstein and Tammar Shavit, who came to the United States in 1999, have since managed to shoot 17 cookbooks—by such leading chefs as Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, the late Jean-Louis Palladin, and David Burke, among others—and a catalog for Daniel Boulud.

“We don’t try to stage the shots,” says Rothstein. In their photographs, one can see, for example, an apple with brown spots or a ladle with a few drops of soup. In the past few years, they have specialized in photographing moving liquids. How do you shoot in tandem? “There is no set division of labor, we do everything together,” says Shavit. “Sometimes we argue, but we learn from it.”

The two began working with Ripert, a Frenchman living in the United States, eight years ago. They set up a meeting, but when they got to the restaurant, they were told that Eric wasn’t waiting for photographers—he had forgotten about the meeting. Rothstein and Shavit decided to stick it out and not to leave. Ripert appeared momentarily, looked in their portfolio—consisting of only eight pictures—and they have worked together ever since. “Most chefs build towers out of their dishes,” says Rothstein, “but with Eric, everything is much more low-key. He uses techniques we’ve never seen anywhere else, but without ostentation or inflated ego. We’ve had the opportunity to see about 150 dishes being created, some didn’t make it while others are served in the restaurant. It’s an amazing experience to see the creative process.”

The three laugh when Ripert mentions the amounts of alcohol they consume during a shoot. “Usually we don’t drink on the job, but for Eric we make an exception,” jokes Rothstein. Ripert, who often participates in televised cooking programs, believes drink aids creativity and makes sure to supply the alcohol.

Ripert’s cookbook with the pair’s photography came out in 2002, and they have lately finished photographing for his next book, due out in October. “In the new book, we explore the movement of objects,” they explain. “Even the fish will be in motion; it’s going to be wet and dirty.”

Rothstein, 43, began his photographic career very differently from the way he now works. He was born in Bnei Brak to a Hassidic family from the Gur sect, studied in yeshiva, and left at the age of 14. He began photography at age 9, something unusual for his ultra-Orthodox surroundings. “I was a child paparazzi,” he recalls, “and my subjects were rabbis.” After serving in the Golani Brigade of the IDF, he traveled the world for five years and returned to Israel. His wife, Shavit, 40, grew up in Givatayim, studied drawing at the Bezalel Academy, photography in France, and acting at Beit Zvi, and acted in the Hasimta and Hasifria theaters. They met by chance at the income tax office in Ramat Gan; she needed a pen, he helped her fill out the form, and they have been together since.

They worked for a time cleaning stairwells, but then decided to study photography and signed up for a half-year course at Yotzer. They soon did a shoot for Maariv’s “At” (“You”) and “Gourmet” magazines and were sent to shoot Yonatan Rossfeld. (“They warned us about him, they said he could be very difficult; in reality it was totally the opposite.”) Rossfeld suggested they shoot his first book and helped them make professional connections.

In 1999, we were some of the busiest photographers in Israel,” recounts Shavit. “We had a ton of big corporate clients, our own studio, and a house in the trendy Dan neighborhood in Tel Aviv. We were on Easy Street, but from a professional standpoint we felt we were repeating ourselves and decided to go to the United States. Rossfeld helped us again by putting us in touch with Michael Ginor, who owns a company that produces foie gras and is connected to chefs in New York.” The duo set up a studio supported by Ginor (the partnership recently ended amicably). “We started calling chefs; having Michael as a reference really opened a lot of doors.”

According to Rothstein, “We let the chef’s personality come out. We look for the dynamics, lighting, and composition in photography and we try to surprise ourselves. We don’t like comfort, but we need to make a living as well. In the past few years, we’ve decided to do one cookbook a year and live off advertising. “It took us five years to enter that line of work. The first job was for Miller beer and then we got other clients, for example Lipton Tea.”

They now dedicate time to artistic photography. Among their recent projects are shots of performers with the Martha Graham Dance Company and of visitors to the Museum of Modern Art. “We don’t like repeating ourselves,” says Rothstein. “When we feel that happening, we start something new. We don’t copy others’ work, and our greatest compliment is when other artists copy our style.”